Abstract
The (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)100 − xSix (x = 0, 0·5, 1·0, 1·5) bulk metallic glass (BMG) rods with a diameter of 2–4 mm have been successfully fabricated by suction casting method and characterised. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that these entire (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)100 − xSix alloy rods exhibit a typical amorphous diffraction pattern with only a broad maximum at 2θ∼40°. The optimum glass forming ability values γ and γm (0·430 and 0·774 respectively) occur at the (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)99·5Si0·5 amorphous alloy. This suggests that the Si element present a positive effect on increasing glass forming ability in the Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14 alloy system. The hardness of these Ti based BMGs exhibits an increasing trend with Si addition and saturated ∼710 HV. In addition, the result of compression test shows that the optimum mechanical property occurs at the (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)99·5Si0·5 amorphous alloy, which presents 2050 MPa fracture strength and 8% failure strain.